Combine a visit to Mexico’s most famous Maya site for the Spring Equinox with a stay in a hacienda that helps the indigenous community

I realised while standing in front of the huge El Castillo pyramid at Chichén
Itzá, baking in the relentless heat of north-eastern Mexico’s Yucatan
plains, that it is worth making the journey to view this ancient wonder at
the time of year that it was designed to put on a natural light show.

At about 4.30pm in the days around the Spring Equinox (21 March), the sun
performs an impressive light-and-shadow show, casting the incredible image
of a serpent slithering down the pyramid of El Castillo or Temple of
Kukulkan, the Maya name for their snake deity Quetzalcoatl.